Page 86 of Down & Dirty

“He’s definitely going to die alone, you know that right?” I joked.

Jake just shook his head with a heavy sigh. “If even one of you manages to find a bride, I’ll die a happy man.”

If I didn’t know he was kidding, it would have been torture keeping my mouth shut. But Jake had never once mentioned a dream of his sons building families of their own. If anything, we’d stayed far away from the topic; the memory and loss my mother a pain none of us wanted to revisit.

Mack finally darted between the women blocking his way and snatched a bag far bigger than we needed. He saw us both watching and hucked the bag into the cart with enough force that Jake looked down with concern at the rest of the contents.

“Those aren’t the right size—“ Jake started.

“Get ‘em yourself then,” Mack barked. “Fricking vultures.”

My father and I laughed, because this was exactly what we expected.Thiswas the yearly tradition. The chaos around us would have been enough, but it was Mack’s annual meltdown that really completed the picture.

“I take it you don’t want to get the turkey then?” I asked, already anticipating his glare.

Jake puffed up, doing a piss-poor job of containing his smirk as he looked my way. “You brought home a bird for the holiday, seems only right you should face the bin.” He made the last bit sound ominous, knowing what I’d face.

Weaving through the store, the shelves nearly barren in sections, children running between us at full sprint, ripped bags of flour painting the floor white, we found ourselves staring at a wide open-topped cooler section between the dairy and bread. The infamous Turkey Bin. Inside it was what was left of the frozen turkeys. And around it were the scavengers. The hawks. The late comers and last minuters. These people were our kind, but they were notkind. Pulling one bowling ball-shaped hazard after another and tossing it back. Too small, too large. You never knew what the reason. But as I stepped forward, I felt my brother’s amusement return. Glancing over my shoulder, it was clear in the sparkle of his eye; Mack had faced the gauntlet the last few years. This year was mine.

“Let’s see if your racing speed helps you here, bike boy.”

A laugh burst out of me, several of my competitors whipping their attention my way. “I don’t need speed. It’s all about precision.” I left the two of them to circle the freezer, my eyes scanning for a turkey larger than the one we’d had last year, but not so big as to be a waste. I found it, just as I rounded the far corner. And with graceful, gazelle-like movements, I snaked an arm around the prize right before one of the marshmallow women went for it.

I heard Mack laugh from the far end of the aisle, no doubt catching the look of fury on her face. But I simply tucked the bird undermy arm and walked back to my family. Another successful expedition under our belts.

“We better get out of here before she slashes our tires,” Jake muttered, giving a quick peek over his shoulder. “You two are terrible for my image.”

CHAPTER 28

CORY

When it was time for our date, Skylar came out of my room, covered in mossy green velvet, from neck to knee. The tight dress was pinched and pulled in all the right places, and the fabric shined as she descended the stairs toward me like a green gemstone, rare and precious. Her hair was in sleek waves, falling loosely over her shoulders as she looked up at me with a cautious smile.

“You never said what we were doing.”

“I never will again if you promise to wear shit like this all the time.”

Her laughter filled the room, warmed more by her than the woodstove that had been roaring since dawn.

“So, I take it this will do?”

I reached out, trailing my hands down her soft arms. I wrapped my fingers around her waist, giving the dip there an appreciative squeeze. This thing was tight, and left little to wonder about just how heavenly her body was beneath it. But I swallowed down the caveman urge to toss her over my shoulder and keep her all to myself.

“It’s perfect.”

Her contented grin shot like a dart in my chest. For all her sharpedges, Sky had the sweetest, softest inside. When she let me see it. “You will still need your coat though.” When she eyed me sideways, clearly trying to do the math on what that meant, I just laughed. “You’ll see.”

An hour later, we arrived in Portland, making our way into the Brookley Arena, among a throng of hyped-up hockey fans. The temperature went from comfortable to chilly real fast.

“We’re up here.” I led her to one of the VIP sections, laughing under my breath when she rolled her eyes.

“Of course we are.”

“Hey, I didn’t do it this time.”

“No?” She pursed her lips, shaking her head.

“I know a guy. He hooked us up.”

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